Antibacterial activities of temporin A analogs

Temporin A (TA) is a small, basic, highly hydrophobic, antimicrobial peptide amide (FLPLIGRVLSGIL-NH2) found in the skin of the European red frog, Rana temporaria. It has variable antibiotic activities against a broad spectrum of microorganisms, including clinically important methicillin-sensitive and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus as well as vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium strains. In this investigation the antimicrobial activity and structural characteristics of TA synthetic analogs were studied. For antibacterial activity against S. aureus and enterococcal strains, the hydrophobicity of the N-terminal amino acid of TA was found to be important as well as a positive charge at amino acid position 7, and bulky hydrophobic side chains at positions 5 and 12. Replacing isoleucine with leucine at amino acid positions 5 and 12 resulted in the greatest enhancement of antibacterial activity. In addition, there was little difference between the activities of TA and its all-D enantiomer, indicating that the peptide probably exerts its effect on bacteria via non-chiral interactions with membrane lipids.     

The effects of charge and lipophilicity on the antibacterial activity of undecapeptides derived from bovine lactoferricin.

We have investigated the effects of charge and lipophilicity on the antibacterial activity of an undecapeptide (FKCRRWQWRMK) derived from the sequence of bovine lactoferricin. We prepared ten analogues that were modified by the incorporation of Ala, Tyr, Trp, Met and Arg residues, which are amino acids known to be important for the antibacterial activity of longer derivatives of lactoferricins. All undecapeptides contained the native Trp residues in positions 6 and 8, and the Arg residues in positions 5 and 9. Generally, the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus was more susceptible to these undecapeptides than the Gram-negative bacteria, and a higher antibacterial activity was observed against Escherichia coli than against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The only exception was the peptide Undeca 9 (RRWYRWAWRMR-NH2), which was almost equally active against all three test strains, displaying minimal inhibitory concentrations of 10 microg/ml (5.8 microM), 7.5 microg/ml (4.4 microM) and 5 microg/ml (2.9 microM) against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The peptides Undeca 6 (YRAWRWAWRWR-NH2) and Undeca 7 (YRMWRWAWRWR-NH2) were the two most active undecapeptides against Staphylococcus aureus, both displaying a minimal inhibitory concentration of 2.5 microg/ml (1.5 microM). The study showed that a level was reached in which undecapeptides having a net charge above +4 and containing three or four Trp residues all displayed a high antibacterial activity. All undecapeptides prepared were essentially non-haemolytic, but undecapeptides containing more than three Trp residues displayed 50% haemolysis of human red blood cells at concentrations above 400 microg/ml (>230 microM).     

Induction, purification and characterization of an antibacterial peptide scolopendrin I from the venom of centipede Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans

The crude venom of the centipede Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans, injected with Escherichia coli K12D31 for 3-4 days showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive. Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. It showed good antibacterial activity against E. coli K12D31 at different temperatures, pH, and ionic strengths. The crude venom was heated at 100 degrees C for 30 min, centrifuged at 10,000 rpm for 30 min at 4 degrees C and the supernatants were obtained, from which an antibacterial fraction having a molecular mass of 3000-5000 Da, was further separated by ultrafiltration. A homogeneous antibacterial peptide named scolopendrin I, having a molecular mass of 4,498 Da, was isolated using cation-exchange chromatography and two steps of reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Scolopendrin I did not show any hemolytic and agglutination activities at the concentration below 30 microM.     

An atypical member of the brevinin-1 family of antimicrobial peptides isolated from the skin of the European frog Rana dalmatina

A single peptide with antimicrobial activity was extracted from the skin of the European agile frog (R. dalmatina). The primary structure of this 17 amino-acid-residue peptide (ILPLLLGKVVCAITKKC) does not immediately suggest membership of any of the previously described families of antimicrobial peptides from ranid frogs. However, if it is assumed that the peptide has undergone several residue deletions during the course of speciation, it shows sequence similarity with peptides belonging to the widely distributed brevinin-1 family, particularly those isolated from the related species Rana temporaria. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the peptide, termed brevinin-1 Da, against the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus was 7 microM and against the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli was 30 microM.     

Ranatuerin 1T: an antimicrobial peptide isolated from the skin of the frog, Rana temporaria.

A peptide, termed ranatuerin 1T, with growth-inhibiting activity toward Staphylococcus aureus, was isolated from an extract of the skin of the European brown frog, Rana temporaria. The primary structure of the peptide was established as: GLLSGLKKVG10 KHVAKNVAVS20LMDSLKCKIS30GDC. In common with other anti-microbial peptides from Ranid frogs, (e.g., ranalexin, ranatuerins, gaegurins, brevinins, esculetins, rugosins), ranatuerin IT contains an intramolecular disulfide bridge forming a heptapeptide ring but there is little structural similarity outside this cyclic region. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ranatuerin 1T was 120 microM against the Gram-positive bacterium S. aureus and 40 microM against the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli, but the peptide was not active against the yeast Candida albicans.     

The antimicrobial activity of the appetite peptide hormone ghrelin

The present study examined the antimicrobial activity of the peptide ghrelin. Both major forms of ghrelin, acylated ghrelin (AG) and desacylated ghrelin (DAG), demonstrated the same degree of bactericidal activity against Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), while bactericidal effects against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) were minimal or absent, respectively. To elucidate the bactericidal mechanism of AG and DAG against bacteria, we monitored the effect of the cationic peptides on the zeta potential of E. coli. Our results show that AG and DAG similarly quenched the negative surface charge of E. coli, suggesting that ghrelin-mediated bactericidal effects are influenced by charge-dependent binding and not by acyl modification. Like most cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs), we also found that the antibacterial activity of AG was attenuated in physiological NaCl concentration (150mM). Nonetheless, these findings indicate that both AG and DAG can act as CAMPs against Gram-negative bacteria.     

Structure--activity study of the antibacterial peptide fallaxin

Fallaxin is a 25-mer antibacterial peptide amide, which was recently isolated from the West Indian mountain chicken frog Leptodactylus fallax. Fallaxin has been shown to inhibit the growth of several Gram-negative bacteria including Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Here, we report a structure-activity study of fallaxin based on 65 analogs, including a complete alanine scan and a full set of N- and C-terminal truncated analogs. The fallaxin analogs were tested for hemolytic activity and antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-intermediate resistant S. aureus, (VISA), methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and P. aeruginosa. We identified several analogs, which showed improved antibacterial activity compared to fallaxin. Our best candidate was FA12, which displayed MIC values of 3.12, 25, 25, and 50 muM against E. coli, K. pneumoniae, MSSA, and VISA, respectively. Furthermore, we correlated the antibacterial activity with various structural parameters such as charge, hydrophobicity H, mean hydrophobic moment mu(H), and alpha-helicity. We were able to group the active and inactive analogs according to mean hydrophobicity H and mean hydrophobic moment mu(H). Far-UV CD-spectroscopy experiments on fallaxin and several analogs in buffer, in TFE, and in membrane mimetic environments (small unilamellar vesicles) indicated that a coiled-coil conformation could be an important structural trait for antibacterial activity. This study provides data that support fallaxin analogs as promising lead structures in the development of new antibacterial agents.     

Anti-microbial action of melanocortin peptides and identification of a novel X-Pro-D/L-Val sequence in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria

The melanocortin peptides alpha-MSH, Lys-Pro-Val and Lys-Pro-D-Val are known to be potent anti-inflammatory agents; however their role as antibacterial peptides is less clear. The aim of this study was to determine whether these peptides displayed antibacterial properties, and specifically whether the Lys-Pro-D-Val tripeptide was more potent than Lys-Pro-Val, consistent with their anti-inflammatory actions. alpha-MSH, Ac-Lys-Pro-D-Val-NH2 and Ac-Lys-Pro-Val-NH2 were found to be antibacterial against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) over a broad range of concentrations compared to a control peptide, Ac-Ala-Ala-Ala-NH2. However, the relative potency of alpha-MSH, Ac-Lys-Pro-D-Val-NH2, Ac-Lys-Pro-Val-NH2 did not differ. Furthermore, it was found that the cationic charge on the lysine residue was not required for activity as a variant peptide Ac-Ala-Pro-D-Val-NH2 was also antibacterial. We therefore describe a novel X-Pro-D/L-Val peptide sequence with similarity to the short melanocortin peptides, which possess antibacterial activity. The combined anti-inflammatory and antibacterial action of such peptides may also have potential value therapeutically.     

Induction, selection and antibacterial activity of the antibacterial peptides from lepldopteran insect cultured cell lines

We induced 3 cell lines that were in vitro cultured from Lepidoptera with heat inactivated Escherichia coil DH5α to stimulate the antibacterial peptide followed by antibacterial activity assay,induction dynamic research and Tricine sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Tricine SDS-PAGE) experiment.The antibacterial activity of the induced BTI-Tn-5B1 cell line was the highest,and the antibacterial activity increased gradually to the highest level in 16 hours after stimulation.A new antibacterial peptide with a molecular weight of about 8000 Da was preferentially induced in Trichoplusia ni BTI-Tn-5B1 ceils in 16 hours after stimulation.Antibacterial activity assays indicated that it had inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus,Escherichia coli K12D31 and Salmonella derby.It has especially strong inhibition against Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli KI2D31 and Salmonella derby.     

Design and mechanism of action of a novel bacteria-selective antimicrobial peptide from the cell-penetrating peptide Pep-1

Here, we report the successful design of a novel bacteria-selective antimicrobial peptide, Pep-1-K (KKTWWKTWWTKWSQPKKKRKV). Pep-1-K was designed by replacing Glu-2, Glu-6, and Glu-11 in the cell-penetrating peptide Pep-1 with Lys. Pep-1-K showed strong antibacterial activity against reference strains (MIC = 1-2 microM) of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as against clinical isolates (MIC = 1-8 microM) of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In contrast, Pep-1-K did not cause hemolysis of human erythrocytes even at 200 microM. These results indicate that Pep-1-K may be a good candidate for antimicrobial drug development, especially as a topical agent against antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. Tryptophan fluorescence studies indicated that the lack of hemolytic activity of Pep-1-K correlated with its weak ability to penetrate zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol (10:1, w/w) vesicles, which mimic eukaryotic membranes. Furthermore, Pep-1-K caused little or no dye leakage from negatively charged phosphatidylethanolamine/phosphatidylglycerol (7:3, w/w) vesicles, which mimic bacterial membranes but had a potent ability to cause depolarization of the cytoplasmic membrane potential of intact S. aureus cells. These results suggested that Pep-1-K kills microorganisms by not the membrane-disrupting mode but the formation of small channels that permit transit of ions or protons but not molecules as large as calcein.     

Structure-activity relationship study of anoplin.

Anoplin is a decapeptide amide, GLLKRIKTLL-NH2 derived from the venom sac of the solitary spider wasp, Anoplius samariensis. It is active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and is not hemolytic towards human erythrocytes. The present paper reports a structure-activity study of anoplin based on 37 analogues including an Ala-scan, C- and N-truncations, and single and multiple residue substitutions with various amino acids. The analogues were tested for antibacterial activity against both S. aureus ATCC 25923 and E. coli ATCC 25922, and several potent antibacterial analogues were identified. The cytotoxicity of the analogues against human erythrocytes was assessed in a hemolytic activity assay. The antibacterial activity and selectivity of the analogues against S. aureus and E. coli varied considerably, depending on the hydrophobicity and position of the various substituted amino acids. In certain cases the selectivity for Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria was either reversed or altogether eliminated. In addition, it was generally found that antibacterial activity coincided with hemolytic activity.     

Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial activity of new aliphatic sulfonamide

A series of novel aliphatic sulfonamide derivatives (1-7) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, FT-IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR and LC-MS techniques. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated in vitro as antimicrobial agents against representative strains of Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25953, Bacillus cereus ATCC 6633 and Listeria monocytogenes ATCC Li6 (isolate), Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli ATCC 11230) and antifungal agent against Candida albicans (clinical isolate) by both disc diffusion and minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) methods. All these bacteria and fungus studied were screened against some antibiotics to compare with our chemicals' zone diameters. Our aliphatic sulfonamides have highest powerful antibacterial activity for Gram-negative bacteria than Gram-positive bacteria and antibacterial activity decreases as the length of the carbon chain increases.     

Molecular cloning of a cDNA encoding atypical antimicrobial and cytotoxic Brevinin-1Ja from the skin of the Japanese brown frog, Rana japonica

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components of the host innate defense system against pathogenic microbial invasion in many organisms. In the present study, we cloned by RT-PCR a cDNA from total RNA prepared from the skin of the Japanese brown frog Rana japonica. The cDNA directs the synthesis of a novel, non-C-terminally alpha-amidated peptide composed of 21 amino acid residues (FLGSLIGAAIPAIKQLLGLKK). The putative peptide showed limited sequence similarity to atypical acyclic brevinin-1OK family AMPs originally isolated from the skin of the Ryukyu brown frog (R. okinavana), which lacks the COOH-terminal cyclic domain commonly observed in typical brevinin-1 groups, but that contains a C-terminally alpha-amidated residue. Although it is unclear whether the peptide, designated brevinin-1Ja, is produced in R. japonica skin, a synthetic replicate of the peptide showed differential growth-inhibiting activity against the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli (minimal inhibitory concentrations: 15 microM and 119 microM, respectively), and produced cell death of mammalian COS7 cells (LD50=28 microM).     

Human defensin 5 disulfide array mutants: disulfide bond deletion attenuates antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus

Human α-defensin 5 (HD5, HD5(ox) to specify the oxidized and disulfide linked form) is a 32-residue cysteine-rich host-defense peptide, expressed and released by small intestinal Paneth cells, that exhibits antibacterial activity against a number of Gram-negative and -positive bacterial strains. To ascertain the contributions of its disulfide array to structure, antimicrobial activity, and proteolytic stability, a series of HD5 double mutant peptides where pairs of cysteine residues corresponding to native disulfide linkages (Cys(3)-Cys(31), Cys(5)-Cys(20), Cys(10)-Cys(30)) were mutated to Ser or Ala residues, overexpressed in E. coli, purified, and characterized. A hexa mutant peptide, HD5[Ser(hexa)], where all six native Cys residues are replaced by Ser residues, was also evaluated. Removal of a single native S-S linkage influences oxidative folding and regioisomerization, antibacterial activity, Gram-negative bacterial membrane permeabilization, and proteolytic stability. Whereas the majority of the HD5 mutant peptides show low micromolar activity against Gram-negative E. coli ATCC 25922 in colony counting assays, the wild-type disulfide array is essential for low micromolar activity against Gram-positive S. aureus ATCC 25923. Removal of a single disulfide bond attenuates the activity observed for HD5(ox) against this Gram-positive bacterial strain. This observation supports the notion that the HD5(ox) mechanism of antibacterial action differs for Gram-negative and Gram-positive species [Wei et al. (2009) J. Biol. Chem. 284, 29180-29192] and that the native disulfide array is a requirement for its activity against S. aureus.     

家蝇幼虫抗菌肽MDL-2对细菌细胞渗透性及代谢功能影响

研究了家蝇幼虫抗菌肽MDL-2与细菌相互作用时,抗菌肤MDL-2对细菌细胞壁的溶解作用、细胞膜渗透性和代谢的影响.抗菌肽MDL-2在抗菌过程中首先与细菌的细胞壁相互作用,使其破裂,抗菌肽对革兰氏阴性细菌大肠杆菌细胞壁的作用有浓度依赖性,而对革兰氏阳性细菌金黄色葡萄球菌MDL-2在较低的浓度时即可发生细胞壁破坏作用;抗菌...     

Studies on the antibacterial activity of phanquone: chelating properties in relation to mode of action against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus

Phanquone is active against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. Its activity is affected by the nature of the suspending fluid, pH and anaerobic growth conditions. Its ability to chelate metal ions was examined and found to be related to its antibacterial activity, which was reduced by the presence of added metal ions, e.g. Co (II), Cu(II), Fe(II) and Fe(III) in nutrient media for both E. coli and S. aureus. When antibacterial activity was examined in dis-nutrient media for both E. coli and S. aureus. When antibacterial activity was examined in distilled water, then certain added metal ions, whilst antagonizing activity was examined in distilled water, then certain added metal ions, whilst antagonizing the activity of Phanquone against E. coli, exerted a co-operative effect in the case of S. aureus. The addition of EDTA and NTA lowered the activity of Phanquone against S. aureus, but not E. coli, while the addition of thiol-containing compounds lowered its activity against E. coli but not S. aureus. concentration quenching was observed for S. aureus but not for E. coli, while overnight pre-incubation at 4 degrees C resulted in the appearance of a growth zone inside the zone of inhibition in the case of S. aureus but not E. coli. Phanquone may have a different mode of action against the two organisms.     

Antibacterial activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts of Acacia aroma Gill. ex Hook et Arn

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the antibacterial activity of seven ethanolic extracts and three aqueous extracts from various parts (leaves, stems and flowers) of A. aroma against 163 strains of antibiotic multi-resistant bacteria. The disc diffusion assay was performed to evaluate antibacterial activity of the A. aroma crude extracts, against several Gram-positive bacteria (E. faecalis, S. aureus, coagulase-negative stahylococci, S. pyogenes, S. agalactiae, S. aureus ATCC 29213, E. faecalis ATCC 29212) and Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli., K. pneumoniae, P. mirabilis, E. cloacae, S. marcescens, M morganii, A. baumannii, P. aeruginosa, S. maltophilia, E. coli ATCC 35218, P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853, E. coli ATCC 25922). All ethanolic extracts showed activity against gram-positive bacteria. Among all obtained extracts, only leaf and flower fluid extracts showed activity against Gram-negative bacteria. Based on this bioassay, leaf fluid extracts tended to be the most potent, followed by flower fluid extracts. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of extracts and antibiotics were comparatively determined by agar and broth dilution methods. Both extracts were active against S. aureus, coagulase-negative stahylococci, E. faecalis and E. faecium and all tested Gram-negative bacteria with MIC values from 0.067 to 0.308 mg/ml. In this study the minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values were identical or twice as high than the corresponding MIC for leaf extracts and four or eight times higher than MIC values for flower extracts. This may indicate a bactericidal effect. Stored extracts have similar antibacterial activity as recently obtained extracts. The A. aroma extracts of leaves and flowers may be useful as antibacterial agents against Gram- negative and Gram-positive antibiotic multi-resistant microorganisms.     

Amino acid sequence of PR-39. Isolation from pig intestine of a new member of the family of proline-arginine-rich antibacterial peptides.

We recently isolated from pig intestine and characterized a 31-residue antibacterial peptide named cecropin-P1 with activity against Escherichia coli and several other Gram-negative bacteria. The isolation involved a number of batch-wise steps followed by several chromatography steps. The continued investigation of these antibacterial peptides has now yielded another antibacterial peptide with high activity against both E. coli and Bacillus megaterium. Amino acid analysis showed a very high content of proline (49 mol%) and arginine (26 mol%), an intermediate level of phenylalanine and low levels of leucine, tyrosine, isoleucine, and glycine. The primary structure was determined by a combination of Edman degradation, plasma desorption mass spectrometry and C-terminal sequence analysis by carboxypeptidase Y degradation using capillary zone electrophoresis for detection of liberated residues. The calculated molecular mass was 4719.7 Da, which is in excellent agreement with 4719 Da obtained by plasma desorption mass spectrometry. The peptide was named PR-39 (proline-arginine-rich with a size of 39 residues). The lethal concentration of the peptide was determined against six Gram-negative and four Gram-positive strains of bacteria.     

Macrolactin N, a new peptide deformylase inhibitor produced by Bacillus subtilis

A new 24-membered ring lactone, macrolactin N, was isolated from a culture broth of Bacillus subtilis and its structure was established by various spectral analysis. Macrolactin N inhibited Staphylococcus aureus peptide deformylase with an IC50 value of 7.5 microM and also showed antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and S. aureus.